Anti-tank Gun
rubber wheels |
This gun was more than likely based on the M3 37mm anti-tank gun from World War II as TimMee used an illustrated version of a 1941 USMC photograph of the gun and jeep on several header cards (See Willys Jeep). It was introduced in the early 50s and was often packaged with other vehicles and soldiers in a wide variety of bagged and boxed set configurations. The gun was also sold individually with soldiers or doubled up with another artillery piece and soldiers in bagged sets. First editions were olive drab green with a smooth matte finish. The olive drab would be replaced by slight variations of the typical army green and briefly in aqua green. The first version had rubber wheels that slid over a metal axle and therefore could be removed. That version was later replaced with plastic wheels attached to a metal axle with conical ends. This prevented the wheels from being removed. A very rare round sticker with a white star and the letters U.S.A. were occasionally applied to the trail of this variation. The cannon mold was retooled for the 3rd (and 4th) version of the wheel: a small spacer (see figure 1) was added to the frame in order to compensate for the new wheel's narrower inner hub mount. In the '80s, the mold was again retooled to replace the tow eye with a tow pin. This was the cannon's final configuration. The production run ended in the late '80s.
Figure 1. Spacer |
Tow eye (left) Tow pin (right) |
Aqua green cannon |
Rare trail sticker |
wheel variations |
#1981 TimMee header card |
#1785 Processed Plastic header card |
#1161K B-Line header card |
• Manufacturer: Tim Mee Toys
• Item number:
• Production: 1950s - 1990s
• Dimensions: 4¼" L x 2¼" W x 2" H (1st version) • 4½" L x 2¾" W x 1¾" H (final version)
• Scale: 1/24
• Colors: olive drab, army green, aqua green
Elevating cannon |
Profile |
Shield markings |
Star sticker |
Rare trail sticker |
Quick Facts
• Manufacturer: Processed Plastic Co.
• Item number:
• Production: 1960s-1970
• Dimensions: 6" L x 2¼" W x 4¼" H (fully elevated)
• Scale: 1/35
• Colors: Olive drab, army green
► Check out the Large Scale Army section for the M-119 Howitzer.